CTOs Must Foster Innovation

The first time you drive a Segway, you immediately feel its innovative control system shooting up your legs into the higher reasoning of your brain. That is when you "get it" about all the buzz and the uniqueness of the vehicle.

Dean Kaymen, the Segway's inventor and a leading innovator has this to say about innovation.

“What’s the opposite of innovation? Management. Management is about making things come out the same. Projects require management. Innovation requires leadership. You can’t manage people, creativity or ideas. You can give them leadership, however.”

If you are a CTO you are not managing a research group or a strategic vision for the company. You are leading people in a way that allows, encourages, and expects them to arrive at a new conclusion. Management is the last thing you want to do to them.

Source: Joyce Wycoff's Weblog